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A review by tasmanian_bibliophile
The May Bride by Suzannah Dunn
2.0
Twice my life has turned on the step of a girl through a doorway; first when I was fifteen and my new, first-ever sister-in-law came walking into Wolf Hall.’
I thought, when I picked up this novel, that it would be about Jane Seymour’s marriage to Henry VIII. A reasonable expectation, I thought, given that the tagline states ‘Marrying the King was Jane Seymour’s destiny and her revenge’. No, the novel is about Katherine Filiol’s marriage in May to Jane Seymour’s brother Edward when Jane was aged 15, and their subsequent friendship.
The story is told by Jane, and starts when Edward brings his bride Katherine home to Wolf Hall. Katherine is aged 21, and is a breath of fresh air to the Seymour household. Jane, the quiet dependable daughter, is captivated and the two become good friends. Katherine is left at Wolf Hall while Edward serves the King in France and then pursues his career at court. But then, after two sons are born, Edward makes shocking allegations against his wife and his father. Edward puts Katherine aside.
‘This is over now and the rest of your life can begin.’
Jane joins Catherine of Aragon’s household, and then sees Henry VIII put Catherine aside in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Then Anne herself is put aside, and on 30 May 1536, Jane becomes the May Bride of Henry VIII.
While the novel wasn’t what I was expecting and I enjoyed aspects of it, I wouldn’t have picked it up if I’d realised it wasn’t primarily about Jane Seymour’s marriage to Henry VIII. We don’t know why Katherine Filiol was put aside by Edward Seymour. And although Ms Dunn’s take is interesting, Katherine Filiol is not the May Bride I really wanted to read about. If you enjoy fiction set in Tudor times, if you want a novel that deals with aspects of Jane Seymour’s life before she married Henry VIII, you may well enjoy this novel more than I did. But if you are looking for a novel about Jane Seymour’s marriage to Henry VIII, this is not it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I thought, when I picked up this novel, that it would be about Jane Seymour’s marriage to Henry VIII. A reasonable expectation, I thought, given that the tagline states ‘Marrying the King was Jane Seymour’s destiny and her revenge’. No, the novel is about Katherine Filiol’s marriage in May to Jane Seymour’s brother Edward when Jane was aged 15, and their subsequent friendship.
The story is told by Jane, and starts when Edward brings his bride Katherine home to Wolf Hall. Katherine is aged 21, and is a breath of fresh air to the Seymour household. Jane, the quiet dependable daughter, is captivated and the two become good friends. Katherine is left at Wolf Hall while Edward serves the King in France and then pursues his career at court. But then, after two sons are born, Edward makes shocking allegations against his wife and his father. Edward puts Katherine aside.
‘This is over now and the rest of your life can begin.’
Jane joins Catherine of Aragon’s household, and then sees Henry VIII put Catherine aside in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Then Anne herself is put aside, and on 30 May 1536, Jane becomes the May Bride of Henry VIII.
While the novel wasn’t what I was expecting and I enjoyed aspects of it, I wouldn’t have picked it up if I’d realised it wasn’t primarily about Jane Seymour’s marriage to Henry VIII. We don’t know why Katherine Filiol was put aside by Edward Seymour. And although Ms Dunn’s take is interesting, Katherine Filiol is not the May Bride I really wanted to read about. If you enjoy fiction set in Tudor times, if you want a novel that deals with aspects of Jane Seymour’s life before she married Henry VIII, you may well enjoy this novel more than I did. But if you are looking for a novel about Jane Seymour’s marriage to Henry VIII, this is not it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith